Ok, I know that this isn’t exactly what you would call “fleet related” but every now and then one has to vent in order to maintain their sanity. The slogan “Buy American” has always been about pride in our country and American workmanship. Most of the fleet managers I know actively promote and purchase American made products. But is “Made in America” rapidly becoming a thing of the past? Take a look at the components used to make the automobiles in our own U.S. Auto Industry. An ever increasing majority of those parts are manufactured in foreign countries (which includes Mexico). As globalization tightens its grip on America, more and more domestic companies are selling-out the American dream to the lowest bidder!  

As they continue to outsource I am confident that we will one day end-up like the many foreign workers who are unable to purchase the products they make.  We are quickly losing our manufacturing base and reverting into a vast retail agency for the developing world’s cheap products.  Are we now expected to compete with foreign manufacturers who pay their employee’s a pauper’s wages? Do we drive the American family into a third-world standard of living so we can all wallow in the collective misery of the global worker?

Globalization has brought both fortune and despair. Where would we be without the cheaper priced products made by foreign companies?  But with cheaper prices comes a significant tradeoff.  Our standard-of-living, the envy of the world, has begun to deteriorate.  Never in history has our situation been more pronounced than in the recent U.S. ranking in the Worldwide 2010 Quality-of-Life Index. The index rated the quality of life for 194 countries, of which the U.S. came in at seventh place.

To get an idea of the severity of the problem you need not look too far into the past. Recently, two American companies (both symbols of American ingenuity and pride) decided to build factories outside the United States. Harley Davidson is building an assembly plant in India and General Electric (GE) is outsourcing the manufacture of compact florescent bulbs to China. GE’s decision to build the CF bulbs in China came shortly after they closed down an incandescent bulb factory in Virginia, and following to their successfully lobbing efforts to outlaw incandescent bulbs in favor of the compact florescent bulbs. So let’s put this into perspective. They jump on the band-wagon to eliminate inefficient incandescent bulbs, and instead of retooling the Virginia factory to make the new CF bulbs, they outsource the entire production to China. Now the newly unemployed GE workers cannot even afford to purchase the Chinese-made CF bulbs! Oh the irony of it all!

I believe our situation is even more critical than most people believe. China has a death grip on our economy and fiscal solvency. The vast unemployed population in this country will find it increasingly more difficult to obtain meaningful and well-paid employment.  Family incomes and home ownership will drop as most of our workforce is displaced into the low-wage retail sector.

Is it too late for America? Is there anything we can do anything to slow down or minimalize the gradual disintegration of our way of life? Unfortunately, like most Americans I do not have the answers, but if I did, I would do everything I could to stop it. For there is one thing you can be sure of: it will be our children who will pay the price for our apathetic attitudes.

Think I’m being overly pessimistic, then talk to the millions of Americans that have been (and will continue to be) unemployed or under-employed for years to come.